After enjoying a rest from major DIY over summer we decided to take the plunge and complete the major renovations on our glorious 1920’s bungalow before winter set in.
Having already conquered the kitchen and bathroom areas last year, this meant bringing in the professionals again to replace all the wall linings, ceilings, architrave and doors for the living areas and bedrooms.
Why the need to renovate?
Back in the early 1970’s this original 1920’s bungalow had a make-over. The plasterboard of the time was placed over the scrim (the hessian lining that covered the wooden sarking), then wallpapered.
In some rooms’ wallpapered walls were layered over various layers of wallpapered plasterboard, leaving a mosaic of layers and decoration. The false softboard that created the lowered ceiling (to keep the heat in) had also sagged over time and chunks had been cut out to accommodate built-in wardrobes which once removed, left a mess. We had disguised this somewhat with smoke and mirrors, but it was time to face the music.
To be fair, once decades of decoration had been striped bare, the bones of the bungalow stood up well over time. The sarking is as strong and solid as first constructed. It is humbling to be reminded how simple structures were 90 years ago. Solid. Basic.
As if we needed another excuse to renovate, there was no insulation in external walls or ceiling. As we discovered last winter, the house was pretty cold and draughty (although we happened to be in the middle of Renovations Phase #1 with gaping holes in the floor boards where the cat conveniently entered and existed at will)!
We rediscovered all sorts of interesting things during our bedroom renovations: including where external 1920’s external windows once were placed before 1950’s extensions transformed them into internal walls.
Stretching limits
We are brave souls and will attack almost any job but also know our limits. Gibbing is one of them.
Sure there are plenty of videos on line and advice on Gibbing, and indeed we know a few people proud to do it themselves but Gib stopping is a real skill. In our case, our original ceilings are 3 metres high and if you are brave enough to Gib yourselves, it’s definitely a 2-3 man job. Not for the fainthearted.
Advantage of the professionals?
Well, we certainly took the opportunity to ask lots of questions and learn. For example, Gib isn’t just thrown on a wall it’s put on a certain way to minimise the amount of stopping and reduce the chance of it lifting away and popping screws with movement. When it comes to inserting skirting boards and architrave it is amazing to watch an experienced joiner at work. They make light work of perfect cutting and even lining up the grain in the wood. It’s quite amazing to see and you really would need a great deal of experience to match the quality of experience the quality they achieve effortlessly. Money well spent.
The other thing to consider, if you want to do your own Gibbing, is you need to be very confident to deal with all the electrical sockets, switches and light fittings. Make sure they are safely disconnected and reconnected, again not something for the faint-hearted.
Health and safety
Builders are a tough lot but what we loved about ours was they they took seriously the long term health issues of handling wall insulation. They fully masked and suited up to keep fibres from their skin and lungs. Also a helpful warning was made clear to us that once the Gib stopping had been sanded, the walls should be primed and sealed as soon as possible to avoid breathing in any residual dust. Apparently it is very good at causing lung infections, not something we needed this winter!
Tag team
We do believe in the DIY ‘get up and go’ approach but also we are realistic and not here to make false claims at how easy some jobs are. So, forgive us on this occasion, but what we’ve outlined above is best left to the professionals unless you are competent and experienced DIY’ers.
On the positive for us, we look forward to our hands-on projects to include:
- filling and sanding wooden beams and trim to a paint ready standard
- priming and sealing walls
- painting walls (to building code standards: correct primer sealer then minimum 2 top coats)
- staining trim
- oiling doors
- sanding, preparing and oiling floors
- refixing blinds, putting up curtains
We think we have enough projects to keep us going! Done properly with care, this will save thousands of dollars.
Slice of life
Here are layers of wallpaper we snapped before laying to rest:
…and where ‘we rested’ while the renovation work was underway! Yes, that’s a bed in the kitchen and a bed in the office. Thanks to the speedy professionalism of our building crew, we were only out of sorts for a matter of weeks. In a few months time it will be a memory. Good times! Camping at home.
August 23, 2016
Good on you. Seems you have a plan! LOL… dare I ask…is the bed out of the kitchen yet??